Re: JavaScript Compression

[Nathan Andelin <nandelin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Simon Coulter wrote:
> Why don't you let the browser and server deal with the compression 
> issue? Modern browsers usually send a request header indicating 
> compression is handled (usually gzip or flate). Modern web servers 
> will, or can be configured to, honour that request. Both those 
> compression algorithms do a reasonable job.

At the risk of seeming unread about Web browser/server compression, I 
have to admit that I didn't know about it.  So I appreciate you 
mentioning it.  On the other hand, I'm sure that on-demand 
compression/decompression takes some CPU time.

While I've been developing Web applications for about 9 years, I hadn't 
accumulated enough JavaScript to be concerned about it, until recently. 
I tend to use a lot of whitespace in my files for readability purposes.

I have mixed feelings about obfuscation.  I've done some innovative 
things with JavaScript that add competitive advantage and I sometimes 
think it would be worth protecting.  On the other hand, I've benefited 
by reading other developer's code, so I don't mind giving back to the 
community.

My main concern is performance.  Lot's of users.  Lot's of requests.

Nathan.